Senator Wyden Takes Issue With Transocean's (RIG) Dividend Payout

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore) issued a letter with 17 other members of the Senate to the Attorney General Eric Holder seeking an investigation from the Justice Department into the company that built the rig that was destroyed weeks ago spilling oil into the Gulf of Mexico at an alarming rate.

The letter asking for action from U.S. regulators came after Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) said that it intends to distribute $1 billion to its private shareholders and following a closed-door meeting of company executives of the company that owns the Deepwater Horizon rig that was destroyed.

In the letter, the Senators noted that the action by Transocean would further the protection for the company against lawsuits and would potentially make it harder for those impacted nby the oil spill to make claims for monetary damages.

"We are concerned that such action to quickly move money out of corporate coffers to individual investors may make it more difficult to pursue liability claims against the company," Wyden and his fellow Senators wrote. "Families of those who died in the disaster, the fishing industry that has been devastated by the oil spill and the governments that have worked full-time to clean up this spill deserve better."

Transocean stands to make $270 million on the insurance from the destroyed rig, after the company had it insured for more than it was worth.

"Transocean's stockholders shouldn't take huge profits from polluting our country's Gulf Coast," the letter said.

Senators that joined Wyden in signing the letter included Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Michael Bennet (D. Colo.), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Robert Casey (D-Penn.).

Transocean shares fell 8.91 percent in market movement Monday to $53.95.

You May Also Be Interested In

• First Community Bancshares (FCBC) Raises Quarterly Dividend 6.5% to $0.33; 3% Yield
• McKesson (MCK) Raises Quarterly Dividend 14.6% to $0.94; 0.5% Yield
• Waste Connections (WCN) Declares $0.35 Quarterly Dividend; 0.8% Yield